Ford EcoBoost V-6 Sets Speed Records at Daytona

There is a new King of Speed at Daytona International Speedway!

It is an understatement to say that twenty-five year old Colin Braun drove his 3.5-liter V-6 Ford EcoBoost Riley Technologies Daytona Prototype race car to impressive speeds at Daytona International Speedway recently. To be fair, with special Continental Tires planting the Roush Yates EcoBoost firmly on course, Braun and his Michael Shank Racing team strategically intended to go fast and break speed records.

How many new speed records did they set? Three. The first record they set was the Daytona single lap speed record of 222.971 mph, topping Bill Elliott’s 1987 Daytona 500 record of 210.364 mph, which he set during qualifying in a Ford Thunderbird. Braun wasn’t even born when Elliott set this record! The Michael Shank Racing team also set two additional new world speed records that have been around since 1979: standing start 10-mile (210.018 mph average) and standing start 10-kilometer (202.438 mph). Comments Braun: “It was a challenging day. There was a lot of work put in by a lot of people to accomplish these records. The power in the new EcoBoost engine was incredible, and it was amazing how fast it came up to speed on the runs.” Right after setting the records, the race car, equipped with the twin-turbo EcoBoost, began preparation for its season of competition in the 2014 TUDOR United SportsCar Championship series. The season kicks off with the Rolex 24 at Daytona in January 2014.